Nordic skiers are a special breed of people. The first thing you notice about them, whether they are the athletes or the adult skiers who volunteer to help run the tournament, is that they are all incredibly fit and trim. Certain types of athletes have bulk in certain areas, like swimmers with their thighs. Not Nordic skiers. They are skinny in all parts, and look like they could ski forever, that is, until you see them hurling as they finish a 10K race.

Photographing Nordic skiing is a great deal like photographing cross country running. The course is laid out in a way where you can photograph in one area, then cut over and catch the back side of a loop as the same group comes through again. It allows you to have diversity in your background scenery and gives you a chance to cover all the atheletes at least once. The downside of this strategy is that you often have a bit of down time, waiting around for the group to come back toward your part of the loop again. But, it also allows you to look around and see what else the scenery has to offer. Then there are the fans who cheer their school athletes on. There is no “Spirit Award” for this event, but if there were, I think it would have to go to the Palmer Moose.

Today was a snowy day. Most adults here who have been around state Nordic ski championships said this was the first time they could recall it snowing during a state championship. Others, offering a similar sentiment, noted that it was the first time in a long time they could recall it being above zero in Fairbanks during a skiing event. It made for some interesting photos, but all but guaranteed that I would not be photographing the aurora tonight. We will see about tomorrow.

This entry was posted
on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 3:14 pm and is filed under Alaska, Sports.
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